I am interested in the operation of images in society, the role of art in the public sphere, and visual analysis of the mass media in America since 1930.
My PhD dissertation, Modern Art for Middle America: American Abstraction in Mass Magazines, 1946-1960, examines how magazines such as Life and Time defined modern art and its role in postwar American culture for a broad public. By analyzing representations of Abstract Expressionism and other art in mass magazines, I consider meanings this art was made to carry in relation to cultural hierarchies, consumerism, and Cold War political rhetoric. More details about my dissertation...
My next research project will compare photographs of feminists and anti-feminist women in the American press from the 1960s through today. As newspapers and magazines framed feminist issues for the public, photojournalism shaped the visual image of the feminist movement. Iconic pictures formed visual stereotypes of feminists that persisted in the nation’s collective memory long after their publication. Furthermore, these photos were viewed in the context of other news stories and advertisements that included many conflicting images of women. I will consider how photographs of feminists disrupted and upheld gender norms established in the visual field of the news media and how this context influenced readers’ interpretations of the images of feminists and feminist issues.
Education
2016 Ph.D. History,
Philosopy, & Culture, Oxford
Brookes University, UK
Thesis: Modern Art for Middle
America: American Abstraction in Mass Magazines, 1946-1960
(Completed part-time with two years of maternity leave)
Supervisors: Nancy
Jachec, Elizabeth
Darling
2000-2005 Ph.D. Student, Art
History, State
University of New York at Binghamton, USA
Completed coursework and formulated a lengthy dissertation proposal
Transferred to Oxford Brookes after moving to the UK
Advisor: John
Tagg
2000 M.A. Art
History, University
of Florida, Gainesville, USA
Thesis: Selling
American Art: Celebrity and Success in the Postwar New York Art
Market
Advisor: Alexander
Alberro
1998 B.A. History of the Arts, Stetson
University, DeLand, Florida, USA
(self-defined interdisciplinary honors program major in Humanities)
Minor: Spanish
Research and Teaching Interests
Areas of Specialization: Cultural history of the United States since 1930, visual culture, modern art and theory, history of photography, mass media studies
Topics of Interest: cultural hierarchies, national identity, Cold War culture, consumerism, photojournalism, public art issues, modern design, advertising, the art market, institutional histories, feminism
Publications
“Highbrow Hoax or Advanced Art? Modern Art and Cultural Hierarchies in Postwar American Mass Magazines” (journal article in preparation)
“When Modern Art Was Un-American: Cultural Politics in Postwar America” (journal article in preparation)
Conferences & Presentations
December 2015, Periodical
and American Studies Symposium, Network of American Periodical
Studies (NAPS), The British Library, London, UK
“Modern Art in Mass Magazines:
Cultural Division and Consensus Building in Postwar America”
November 2014, Ms/Representation: Mass Media & Feminisms in
Historical Context, University of Westminster, London, UK
“'A perfect reflection of your own
good taste': The Consumption of Modern Art in 1950s Mass
Magazines”
September 2011, Un-Americans
and the Un-American: From 1776 to 9/11, Centre for American
Studies, University of Leicester, UK
“When Modern Art Was Un-American:
Cultural Politics and the Politics of Culture in Postwar America”
This
paper was mentioned in an article in The Guardian
newspaper.
September 2010, Art
Histories, Cultural Studies, and the Cold War International
Conference, University of London, UK
“Modern Art and Freedom: Cold War
Cultural Politics in American Mass Magazines”
April 2010, "Anxious Dwelling/Postwar Spaces" Session, Association
of Art Historians (AAH) 36th Annual Conference, University of
Glasgow, UK
“Modern Art at Home: Collecting,
Consumerism, and the Performance of Freedom in Postwar American
Mass Magazines”
April 2009, British
Association for American Studies (BAAS) Annual Conference,
University of Nottingham, UK
“Modern Art for Middle America:
Mass Magazines, Abstract Painting, and Cold War Culture in the
1950s”
September 2008, Representing
the Everyday in American Visual Culture, Nottingham Institute
for Research In Visual Culture (NIRVC), University of Nottingham, UK
“Modern Art for Middle America: How
Postwar Mass Magazines Made Abstraction Everyday”
April 2007, Art and Architecture Area, American Culture
Association, Popular
Culture Association/American Culture Association Annual Conference,
Boston, MA, USA
“Highbrow, Middlebrow, Lowbrow:
Modern Art and Cultural Hierarchies in the Postwar American Mass
Media”
March 2007, Art
History Research Seminar, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University,
UK
“‘Is Modern Art a Hoax?’
Contemporary Abstract Art and the Popular Press in Postwar
America”
About Me
During the course of my PhD, I had 3 advisers at 2 different universities, 7 house moves (one of which was transatlantic), and 2 babies. It wasn't easy, but I am proud to have finished despite these interruptions and while being the primary caregiver for my small children.
I am currently working on publishing my PhD research and seeking a part-time position in the East of England, London, or the U.S.
Contact Information
email: christine@christinebianco.com
Follow my research on Academia.edu